Head over to your neighborhood coffee shop if you want to get that novel finished or make major headway on your project. A new study suggest the ambient background noise or buzz of conversation in public places can fuel creativity.

Many of us are more productive and focused at coffee shops because we’re working in public. This new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research included several experiments and involved more than 300 people. It showed that those who had ambient noise in the background (70 decibels, the level that you’d hear in a bustling cafe) scored higher in objective word-association tests and their answers were rated more creative by other participants.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the study:

Adds to research suggesting that small doses of distraction – including hard-to-read fonts – prompt the mind to work at a more abstract level, which is also a more creative level. […]There’s a sweet spot between silence and din.

Do you feel more creative at the coffee shop or with conversations buzzing in the background?